If you’ve been following along with the NASB blog, you’ll see that we’ve talked at length about affordable housing markets in the United States.
As if there wasn’t enough data to keep us happy, SmartAsset released a study of the 10 cities home buyers under the age of 35 are flocking toward. Let’s dissect the information below.
SmartAsset’s Top-10 Affordable Housing for Under-35 home buyers
10. Corpus Christi, Texas – According to SmartAsset, the “price-to-rent ratio in Corpus Christi is the lowest in the nation.” The city has seen a 1.8% rise in home ownership sales to Under-35 buyers because of the lure of buying against renting for prospective long-term residents.
9. Cape Coral, Florida – Not the only Florida city on this top-10 list, but Cape Coral is apparently very lucrative to under-35 buyers. “42.4% of millennials in Cape Coral own their home,” according to SmartAsset.
8. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The cause of OKC’s landing on this list has more to do with long-term economic conditions in the city for millennials rather than home-values themselves. “It is one of the few U.S. cities in which millennials are doing better financially than prior generations … where about one-third of millennials own their home.”
7. Clarksville, Tennessee – Data from Clarksville seems to agree with information from around the country: living in the big cities is getting expensive. Roughly 34% of Clarksville millennials own their homes. SmartAsset’s take: “That makes Clarksville the only major Tennessee city with a millennial home ownership rate greater than 30%. Several others, including Nashville … have seen significant declines in home ownership among young adults …”
6. Amarillo, Texas – Relatively speaking, this city is selling homes at dirt-cheap rates when compared to the national average. “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median home value in Amarillo was just $116,300 in 2014, while the national median was $181,200.”
5. Wichita, Kansas – We’ve talked before about how to measure affordability (take the cost of housing and compare it to average incomes in a city). Wichita has one of the fastest-growing affordability rates in the nation, which can spell good news for young first-time home buyers. “The home ownership rate among adults who are under the age of 35 has increased by 4.3% over the past decade.”
4. Cary, North Carolina – Following the trend of big-city-rent-only, 42.1% of millennials in Cary own their home. This is a 3.3% increase since 2005, while “Raleigh an Durham [have] fallen steeply over the past 10 years, by 10% and 8% respectively,” according to SmartAsset.
3. Chesapeake, Virginia – “Among the largest 200 U.S. cities, Chesapeake has the fifth-highest millennial home ownership rate at 49.5%.” The study estimates that all signs point toward a 50% home ownership rate for under-35 buyers at the current rate.
2. Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Tagged as a generally great place to raise a family, SmartAsset cites the city’s reputation as having some of the best high school graduation rates in the nation. Also, “45% of millennials own their home in Cedar Rapids.”
1. Port St. Lucie, Florida – The other Florida town on this list cannot boast the same millennial home ownership as Port St. Lucie. At 58%, this is the highest under-35 ownership rate in Florida and the rest of the country. In addition to the view, this city is a hot-bed for millennials looking into buying a new home.
If you would like help with getting a home loan in these or any markets in the U.S., give the experts at NASB a call at 888-661-1982.
